Emergency Management

Contact

Emergencies Call 911

Local Backup Numbers:
523-4850
523-9177

Before an Emergency…

Plan Ahead! Listen for Information! Have Ready:
Transportation, Shelter, Warmth, Food, Water, Medication
A plan for dealing with any special medical needs

Click here for a special checklist to help you plan!
Visit ReadyNH.COM to learn about more great emergency preparedness resources from the State of NH.

Under New Hampshire law, each community is required to have an Emergency Management Director who is responsible for coordination of a response to an emergency through a state-wide Incident Command System. In Canaan, the Emergency Management program is also responsible for the management of any emergency within the Town. The Director is responsible for planning to prevent disasters and pre-planning for resources in the event of a disaster. Canaan has used its Emergency Management Program to prepare plans for a wide variety of disasters including fires, floods, ice storms, droughts, health epidemics, spills and explosions.

Activities may include planning for and delivering medical care, sheltering, food, water, transportation, evacuation, reopening roads, removing power lines, flood management, drainage improvements, rescue and education.

For regional events, all activities are coordinated on a state-wide basis.

We are asking EVERYONE in our local communities to enroll in the CODE RED program.

It is absolutely FREE. CODE RED allows us to notify you in an emergency. Your home “landline” is already enrolled, but mobile devices are not. With the increased prevalence of mobile device only homes, we need to be able to let you know if there is an emergency.

Be sure to also visit the ReadyNH website to learn how to prepare for emergencies.

Click on the above image to see the full slideshow!

The following individuals make up the command structure for Emergency Management in Canaan:

Emergency Management Director –
Assistant Emergency Management Director –
Alternate Director – Sergeant Todd Baravalle
Other members of Town Government, including firemen, highway employees, FAST Squad, Water and Sewer and Administration, participate.

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2011

Hazard Mitigation Plan
- Includes Charts of Natural Disasters in Canaan
Su pport Documents
Emergency Operations Plan

Rain Event: July 2017

On July 1, 2017 heavy rains hit the Northeast causing flooding and erosion in many Upper Valley and North Central NH Communities. Canaan sustained damage to 12 roads. Cost of repairs was $75, 000.

Hurricane Irene: July 2011

More than 5 inches of rain feel in under 10 hours on Sunday, August 28th as Irene swamped the Northeast. Most of our streams flooded over their banks and washed out road shoulders, roadways and culverts. Innumerable roads were closed in Canaan with a few remaining closed for up to two weeks.

More than 40 people, including Firefighters, Police Officers, Highway crew and civilian volunteers, served as traffic control, filled and placed sand bags, pumped cellars, set up generators, saved a dam, rescued propane tanks, removed debris, set up barricades, rescued stranded people, towed flooded vehicles, manned shelters, responded to downed power lines and notified people of impeding danger. Their efforts were astounding. Less than twenty hours of paid employee overtime was recorded.

Preparations were completed more than 48 hours prior to the storm and we all survived fairly well. There was significant damage to town highways that has been mostly repaired with 75% of the cost borne by FEMA.

The Transfer Station Road received heavy damage as Orange Brook overflowed at a sharp bend up-stream from the transfer station bridge. The flooding undermined long sections of the road, took out sections of the chain link fence, destroyed paving and plugged the bridge openings with debris that had to be removed. The road was still underwater 24 hours after the flooding started. Total damage expense was about $24,000 plus town labor.

A bridge over Mascoma River that services Lashua Road (off River Road) was moved partially off of the abutments and the decking was damaged by Irene. The bridge was impassable for several weeks and was eventually reset and the decking was replaced. The cost was $10,800.

Cider Mill Road had extensive damage from washouts along the road and cross road washouts. The road remained closed for nearly 48 hours. New culverts and many loads of gravel and stone were needed to reopen the road. Damage totaled $16,200 plus town labor.

There were several washouts at the North end of Jerusalem Road that made passage difficult as well as many areas where shoulders were washed away. The major problem was the washout at the intersection of Jerusalem Road and Springs Road. A tributary that feeds into Indian River became a raging torrent that took out a major culvert under Jerusalem Road making it impassable from South to North. The total cost for materials and equipment for this repair was $12,400.

Potato Road had damage both north of South Road and south of South Road. The road was under water most of the way between US Route 4 and the hill that climbs up to South Road. Water flooded all along the plain that is north of the bridge. The hill that climbs up towards South Road washed out due to the heavy waters flowing down the ditches. One culvert plugged entirely and had to be removed. Extensive rebuilding work occurred along the east side of the road. South of South Road there were also washouts and another culverts had to be replaced. The total cost of equipment time and materials for Potato Road was $7,500.

Other roads damaged included Prospect, North Lary, Choate, West Farms, Ibey, Ball Park, Depot, May, Sugar Hill, Maple, and Abbott Roads. The total cost of labor, equipment and materials was $97,500.

Tornado: August 2011

Noreaster 2007

April 15, 2007

Floods

July 2019 Flood

On July 11, 2019, a torrential rain storm hit Canaan at 8:15 PM. More than 6 inches of rain came down in less than 2 hours. Streams overflowed, flat roads had many inches of standing water and roadside ditches washed out taking more than half of the driving lanes of the dirt roads downstream.

A total of 29 town roads were damaged. A total of 13 miles of the 35 miles of road experienced severe damage. Several roads were impassable. In addition, there was damage to several town facilities including the transfer station Road bridge.

In all there was about $400,000 in damages to roads and facilities. The Town is expected to take at least two months to complete repairs. Canaan is waiting on a storm declaration so that we can be reimbursed by FEMA for part of the cost.